The Metamorphosis Essay

Metamorphosis is a deep transformation of a structure of an organism. In other words, it is some kind of reincarnation. As a rule, the term ‘reincarnation’ is used in a figurative sense. One of the brightest examples of a total conversion of a person is a short story of F. Kafka “Metamorphosis” (1915). Gregory Zamza, the main hero of this story, having woken up early in the morning, finds out that he became a huge insect. He had the appearance of an insect, but his inner world had not changed for the first time. His relatives were rather shocked by this transformation. They tried to adapt to his new appearance, but these attempts were vain. The parents tried to cope with their disgust to the son and concealed this fact from the people around. Only his sister looked after him for the first time. She fed him, cleaned his room. It was only at the beginning of this metamorphosis. Over time, their attitude to him became really awful. They perceive him not as their son or even not as a person. He became an insect for them, and their behavior with him also became as with an insect. Because of such behavior of his relatives, Gregory reincarnated to an insect not only in appearance, but fully, which had led to the tragic end – to the death of the main hero of the story. He even did not walk as a person, he crept as an insect. Despite it, it was not a tragic end for his relatives. They looked at this situation, which had happened with their son, as if it was some kind of disposal.Speaking about Kafka`s “Metamorphosis”, we cannot but mention V. Nabokov. He thinks that this story is completely absurd. He tries to show Gregory Zamza`s physical shape in an image of an insect, devotes to it a lot of time that has practically left outside the soul of the work. 90 % of Nabokov`s text is a detailed retelling of Kafka`s story with psychological comments of the characters’ behaviour. Nabokov thinks that even if the author tries to show his work in a very interesting and loving way, there will always be an indifferent reader, whom this story would not touch. As a whole, the Kafka`s “Metamorphosis” has gotten the most appreciation among all Kafka`s works. The “Metamorphosis”, in his opinion, is a bright expression of Kafka`s tragic attitude and outlook. The situation of ‘metamorphosis’ in this story as well as in his other works can be interpreted differently.The “Metamorphosis” of F. Kafka is a metamorphosis of remoteness and estrangement of a person from the world. The author shows that appearance plays a very important role. If you look like an insect, even the closest people will not appreciate your inner world, which leads to the feeling of uselessness.